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tntril graag nient 'Y Utili@ 'NL-T. AHI:'ICLCOOIQ OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSCHUSETTS, ASSIGNOE T0 HILL SELF `AND J. W. LABAREE, OF SAME PLACE.

Letters Patent No. 98,965, datecll'lanumg/ 18, 1870.

RAILROAD-CAR VENTILATOR.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent making part of the same.

To all whom fit may concern Be it known that I, M. T. HITCHCOCK, of' JySpringiield, in the county of' Hampden, and Commonwealth' of Massachusetts, have invented a new and improved Ventilator for Railroad-Cars; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to -the aceompanying drawings, making a part of this specification,

`and to the letters of reference marked thereon, in

which- Figure lis a perspective view of said ventilator;

Figure 2 is an elevation of the same, showing the side w-hich is applied to the car; and

Figure 3 is a sectional view, the plane of sectionV being indicated by the line y y in fig. l.

My invention relates to that class of ventilators used for changing the air in railroadcars,and consists of `a shell or case, having ateach end a curtain, closing the upper part of the end of the shell, and inclining inward asit extends downward, and at about the middle of the shell is a partition, yextending from the top downward to nearly the lower side of the shell,

say, to within three-fourths ofan inch, or an inch, of

the bottom.

Upon each side of this partition is a deilector,` placed transverselysvithin the shell, and suiciently inclined, so that as the cinders or coarser particles of dust strike the de'ector, they are guided downward, and pass underneath the deilector and partition, and are carried out the rear end of the shell by the current of air constantly passing through.

An air-passage is made in one side of the shell, connecting with a quadrangular portion, upon which are anges, by means of which the ventilator is secured to a car.

This shell is precisely similar, in its construction and arrangement, to that designed for the side of Monil tor? cars, shown in Letters Patent granted to me, bearing date the 18th 'dayof February, A. D. lLS,

and lnumbered 7 4,534; `my present application being y for an improvemcntin the arrangement of parts used within the same shell, whereby air is taken into and out of the car, through the saine ventilator, and the amount of 'air either taken in or out may, it' desirable, be regulated to any desired degree.

That others skilled in the art may be ableto make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and the mode of its operation.

In the drawings--` A represents a shell or case, which is cylindrical, or partially so, and having an opening, E, and upon one side of the shell, and communicating with the opening E, is a prismatic or quadrangular portion, B, upon the end of which are made the iianges b.'

Within the upper `part of vthe sheIlA, ,a.nd made to fit properly theinterior form of it, are the curtains C,

at or near each end, and extending downward nearly Nearly parallel with the curtains C are the deflect-l f ors D and D', which may be secured to the sides of the shell, and the upper edges of which are la little higher than the lower edges of the curtains C, so that no body, 'passing in the line of the axis of the shell, can passboth the curtain and deflector, without striking either the one or the other.

A plate, a, is attached to the partition F, and also tothe top of the dedector, in each compartment of the shell, said plate projecting a little over the top of the deflector, to form a guard, to prevent any portion of the cinders from passing upward into the car.

The opening E may be of any desirable form and size, to give a sufficiently free passage for the air, and that side of the shell through which the'opening E is made may be straight, inst-eadof cylindrical, and parallel with the side of the car to whichit may be attached, and be equally operative; that is to say, there should be some kind of partition between the cylindrical part of the shell and the rectangular part B, and the opening E should be made in the upper part of this partition; but it is immaterial whether this partition is straight,lor whether it is curved and forms regulated by the space G, between the lower edge of the deflectors D, or partition F, and the lower side of the shell. .If this space is larger, more air is takenv out of the car; if it is smaller, more air is lforced into the car, as will .be hereafter explained.

The operation of the invention is as follows:

rlhe ventilator may be attached to the side `of the deck of a Monitoig77 car, the rectangular portion B covering one of the openings made for ventilatingpurposes, and be attached by means of a frame, metallic or wood, just large enough to pass over the cylindrical shell and rectangular portion B, and force the flanges lragainstthe side of the deck, said frame being secured to the car by screws; the axis of the shell being nearly or quite longitudinal, with reference to the car. As the car is moved rapidly, the air enters the front end of theshell, a part passing up, a-s indicated by the red arrow at the left, in iig. v3; a great portion, however, passing under the'partition and deectors D D', as indicated by the arrow at Gr, and out the rear end of the shell.

This current passing under the detlectors, tends to create a vacuum in the upper lpart of the rear end of the shell, or to create a draught of air ont of the car through the opening E, communicating with the rear compartment of the shell, as indicated by the red arrow at the right hand, in figs. 2 and 3.

If the space G under the deilectors D be larger, a greater quantity of the air which enters the shell passes directly through, and a less proportion of it is checked by thedelector D and made to enter the opening E in the front compartment; while the greater body ot' air passing through the said space G, operates to Create a more perfect vacuum just behind the detlector D, and causes a stronger outward suction through the rear opening E.

The space G, however, should not be too small, as the eiect would then be to check too much of the air, preventing it from passing through the space G, and causing. too much of it to pass into the car, through the opening E in the front compartment of the shell, without taking out asuiiicient quantity through the opening in the rear compartment.

'I find that in practice it is better thatthe lower I edges of the deflectors D, or the lower edge of the partition F, should be about seven-eighths oi' an inch above the lower part of the shell, said space decreas ing as 'it extends around and up the inside ofthe shell, until it is entirely closed by the attachment of the ends ot the deiiectors to the-inside of the shell.

A It is evident the ventilator is equally operative, in whichever direction the car may be moving, the front compartment, as the car moves in one direction, becoming the rear compartment as the car moves in an opposite direction.

As thus constructed and arranged, an equal, or nearly equal amount of air is taken out as is put into lthe car, and by the same shell, and the opening int-o the car may be supplied with doors Cr slides, by which to close the apertures when desirable, and it there are two doors at eac-h aperture, that is, one upon each Side of the partition F, the draught into or out of the car, either one or both, may be partially or entirely checked, as lnay be desired. v

An opening might be made in the shell, underneath As the cinders and heavier particles of dust are carried into the shell, they are deflected downward by striking against the curtain G, ordeector D, or both,

and the current of air passing through the space G carriesA them through also, and out the' rear end of thc shell.

It will be seen that I do not use water, in connection with the above-described ventilator, as a means of disposing ofthe dust and cinders while the cinders are as eiectually driven out, or prevented from entering the car, as they are by the use of the more elaboratelyconstructed ventilators requiring the use of water, while my apparatus is cheap, simple in construction, and is eiective.

I am aware that various devices have heretofore been used'for supplying air to the interior of railwayoars, and for arresting or preventing the entrance of cinders and dust, by means of interposing plates used in connection with a stratum of water, as shown in Letters Patent grant-ed to George Spencer, November 8, 1853, and numbered 10,216, and others, and I do not claim the saiddevices, nor any part ofl them, irrespective of my arrangement and construction; but, having described my invention,

iVhat I do claim as new, and desire to `secure by Letters Patent, is

The shell or case A, having the opening E therein, and tl1e`prismatic portion B upon one side, in combination with the partitionfplate F, curtains C, and delectors D, all constituting a railway-,car ventilator, constructed and operating substantially as and for the purposes herein described and specified.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand,

this 31st day of August, A. D. 1868.

M. T. HITCHCOCK.

Witnesses:

J. P. BUCKLAND, E. J. SOMMER. 

